Petach Tikva, Israel, and Palo Alto, Calif., June 25, 2013 – /BackupReview.info/ — CTERA Networks, the leader in cloud storage enablement,today announced version 4.0 of its cloud storage platform, including new file sync and share, mobile security, and cloud storage SLA capabilities. The CTERA platform is a combination of cloud-side management software and on-premises cloud storage gateways and end point agents, which enables enterprises and service providers to deliver scalable cloud storage services, using underlying storage infrastructure from the likes of EMC, IBM and AWS.

CTERA version 4.0 adds many new features across the CTERA application suite, with emphasis on a unified client for enterprise-class file sync & share and backup, plus secure mobile collaboration. With the new release, CTERA now offers per-tenant SLA policies that control in which storage bucket their data is stored, wider platform support for backup of virtual servers, and expanded scalability to hundreds of thousands of users.

“CTERA has been unique in the breadth of cloud storage applications it offers and its platform’s ability to handle large-scale deployments,” said Simon Robinson, vice president at 451 Research. “The new release expands the company’s footprint in enterprise file sync and share applications, while deepening its roots as a cloud storage enabler.”

File sync and share has received much attention in the past year, but enterprises wishing to deploy their own internal service face significant challenges. In a recent research note on Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS), Gartner recommends that enterprises make on-premises integration, collaboration, mobility and security features key buying criteria for choosing private EFSS vendors, and select an EFSS solution that is flexible enough to operate in a physical or virtualized infrastructure, as well as within public cloud facilities. Gartner Research, ‘Use These Best Practices to Deploy a Private Enterprise-Class File Sync and Share Service’, Gene Ruth, Arun Chandrasekaran, 26 March 2013.

CTERA addresses the need for EFSS that is fully under the control of corporate IT, allowing enterprises and service providers to choose where their data is stored and secure it with private encryption keys, while leveraging their existing storage infrastructure or their public cloud storage instances.

Key features of the new platform release include:

· Team Collaboration: Plan-based control over user privileges to create and use team workspaces, derived from Active Directory groups. Corporate IT can thus restrict file sharing in a scalable, transparent manner.

· Cloud Storage SLAs: Differential service levels by storage pool, enabling customers to differentiate their offerings to end-users based on storage infrastructure features, such as redundancy, performance or uptime guarantee.

· Enhanced Scalability: Supporting multiple database servers for customer instances in the cloud, making it possible to scale out a CTERA-based service to multiple customers with hundreds of thousands of connected gateways and end-points.

· Active Directory Integration: Full integration with corporate Active Directory and LDAP for user authentication and single sign-on (SSO). This includes support for complex tree and forest topologies, as well as Kerberos authentication protocols.

“CTERA pioneered the cloud storage gateway, and was the first to introduce a fully-integrated solution for backup and file sync last year,” said Liran Eshel, CEO of CTERA. “With this new release CTERA continues to execute on its vision of a cloud storage platform that combines all the must-have cloud storage applications under a unified platform that is infrastructure-agnostic.”

CTERA’s customers include some of the world’s largest financial institutions, government agencies, pharmaceutical and utility companies. Leading service providers including Telefonica, Swisscom and Orange (France Telecom) have partnered with CTERA to deliver private-label cloud storage services to business customers. Some deployments span tens of thousands of connected appliances and hundreds of thousands of end-users. The company has experienced 500 percent year-on-year revenue growth in both 2012 and 2011.

The new capabilities are available in version 4.0 of CTERA’s cloud storage platform, currently deployed with early availability customers and planned for general availability in the next quarter.

Supporting quotes:

· Eric Fletcher, VP Marketing Ricoh Canada:
Leveraging our investment in a Canadian-based infrastructure and developing a portfolio of cloud solutions relevant to the Canadian marketplace, we have partnered with CTERA to launch RCloud Services: Backup & Recovery. As a premier managed service provider, we found the enterprise-grade security features and private branding capabilities invaluable in delivering a service that our customers can rely on.”

· Marco Lanza, CIO of the Angelini Group, a multinational pharmaceutical conglomerate:
“We chose CTERA for its tight integration with our infrastructure and its ability to provide a truly secure and completely private solution. Alternatives we looked at all fell short when it came to keeping all data and metadata in-house, maintaining control over encryption keys, and integrating with our Active Directory – CTERA was the only solution to tick all the boxes.”

· Stoned Elipot, CIO of Université Paris Diderot:
“We needed a way to securely share files among our faculty for our researcher community, some of whom are constantly roaming worldwide. CTERA provided us with an easy way to set up a private file sync and share environment with team collaboration capabilities and most importantly, complete control over data security and encryption. This allows us to offer our users a secure, efficient alternative to public, consumer-grade applications.”

About CTERA Networks
CTERA Networks is the leader in cloud storage enablement, revolutionizing storage, data protection and collaboration for enterprises and SMBs. CTERA’s platform combines secure cloud storage services with on-premises appliances and managed agents over infrastructure of choice. CTERA pioneered the cloud storage gateway concept, with tens of thousands of units deployed, and its scalable cloud service delivery platform is used by leading service providers and enterprises, on the public or private cloud infrastructure of their choice. For more information, visit www.ctera.com. Follow CTERA on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CTERA